What Makes Up Marine Ecosystems Environmental Sciences Essay

What Makes Up Marine Ecosystems Environmental Sciences Essay An ecosystem can be defined as an area where there is an interaction between all the non-living and living components. The complete group of organisms inhabiting the ecosystem can be called a community. The abiotic non-living components include such items as air, water, soil sunlight all of which may be critical to the survival of the organisms (Soper et al 1997). Odum (1969) described the ecosystem as a single entity composed of many different parts dynamically interacting with transfers of energy and considers the ecosystem to be a unit of biological organization made up of all the organisms in a given area (that is community) interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to characteristic trophic structure and material cycles within the system. This more elaborate explanation is still applied today and is more relevant as it takes into account the important issue of energy flow between the components. Marine ecosystems include oceans, coral reefs, estuar ies and coastal areas such as lagoons and kelp beds. An appreciation of the fundamental definition described above allows us to understand how the ecosystem concept can be extrapolated from smaller marine ecosystems such as coral reefs or sea grass beds to bigger ones such as the Caribbean Large Marin Ecosystem (CLME) which is an interconnected complex of these and many other smaller ecosystems. Duda (2002) describes the large marine ecosystem (LME) as a vast marine area which begins with and includes coastal regions and estuaries and eventually stretches out to continental shelf limits and areas dominated by coastal current systems. Sherman et al (2004) use the following more detailed factors to develop criteria for demarcating LMEs ; bathymetry, hydrography, productivity, and trophically dependent populations. Several of the 64 LMEs spread out across the globe also occupy spaces which are semi-enclosed seas for example the Caribbean and Baltic seas are two semi enclosed seas which form the respective CLME and Baltic Sea LME (BSLME). Another factor used in determining the seaward extent of LMEs is the area affected by the major ocean currents of the world, hence, for example the North Brazil Shelf LME (NBSLME) is delimited by the North Brazil Current system and its extent. This factor therefore sometimes supercedes the 200 nautical mile of EEZ fisheries zone limits criteria. The understanding of the concept of the LME is fundamental to this study as the area of interest transcends the boundary between two adjacent LMEs namely the CLME and the NBSLME (see figure 1.) (Polygon delimiting actual study area needs to be inserted on this diagram) Figure 1. The Caribbean and adjacent Large Marine Ecosystems. (Fanning et al. 2009) Resources and Ecosystems Seagrass, coral reefs and mangroves are very common marine coastal ecosystems within the CLME. The outflows of two of the largest river systems in the world, the Orinoco and the Amazon have a great impact the LME of the Caribbean (CLME, 2007)., the former having the greater effect due to its closer proximity, approximately 100 km from the south coast of the island of Trinidad. The North Equatorial Current moves in a generally westward direction from the mid Atlantic region into the Caribbean basin through the Lesser Antilles and thus many of the islands within this area are impacted by its nutrient poor nature (see fig 2). The islands of the South Eastern Caribbean however, especially the twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago are heavily impacted by the Guiana Current which enters the Caribbean along the northern coast of South America (fig 3). It has been stated that the freshwater outflows from the Amazon and Orinoco has a significant impact on the Guiana current (Morrison and Smith 1990). Muller-Karger et al. (1988) illsutrate that the Amazon River discharges the most amount of freshwater into the ocean from any single point source. The North Equatorial Current (NEC) as represented by the Mariano Global Surface Velocity Analysis (MGSVA). The NEC is the broad westward flow that is the southern component of the N. Atlantic subtropical gyre. It is fed by the Canary Current and its waters eventually end up in the Gulf Stream system, either via the Antilles current or through the Caribbean via the Guiana current. (Bischof et al. 2004) South equatorial current, North Brazil Current and North Brazilian Current are all terms which have been applied to the Guyana current. Flagg et al. (1986) suggest that the misappropriation of the names is due mainly to the seasonal nature of the adjacent currents. The Guyana Current starts off as the North Brazil Current which carries along the south American coastline up to the region of French Guiana where part of it diverges and rejoins the North Equatorial Counter Current. The Guiana Current is formed from the remainder which continues along the coast in a northwestward direction (Condie 1991) The Caribbean current as represented by the Mariano Global Surface Velocity Analysis (MGSVA). The Caribbean Current transports significant amounts of water northwestward through the Caribbean Sea and into the Gulf of Mexico, via the Yucatan Current. The source water for the Caribbean Current is from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean via the North Equatorial, North Brazil, and Guiana Currents. The counter-clockwise circulation of the Columbia-Panama Gyre is evident off-shore of southern Central America (Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama) and northern Colombia. (Gyory et al. 2004) (Gyory et al. 2004) The Caribbean exhibits a great degree of spatial and temporal differences when it comes to its marine environment. Coral reefs are a prime example of the diversity of its ecosystems and its species as most of the corals and associated species found in the region are endemic making this biodiversity of international importance (Burke and Maidens 2004) The interdependence and flow of energy from the nearshore more productive habitats such as the reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds to the less productive open ocean areas such as the planktonic and pelagic systems and the environmental conditions that influence them are not well understood at this point. Why conserve and manage marine ecosystems? The importance of marine ecosystems and hence the need for their sustainable management can be best illustrated by two main factors; the direct and indirect services they provide and the ensuing natural and human based stressors that they face. Marine ecosystem services Humans often view the oceans as a huge waste bin while simultaneously as a perpetual source of food. With five percent of the worlds protein supply coming from the sea and up to 15 percent is selected areas such as China and Japan our dependence on the ocean for food is immense. There is a wide range of services apart from being a food source that humans garner from the oceans, to fully appreciate these one must first come to terms with the varying scales of spatial distribution and time which these services may be provided. Obviously different regions will provide various services due to their different physical makeup and constituents for example near shore coastal ecosystems provide most of the services of a particular type due to their highly productive nature whereas open ocean areas provide most of the regulating services and chemical balancing mainly due to its immense size. The medical, spiritual, aesthetic values of the ocean are also great but often receive lesser attention. Recently much interest has been placed in carbon sequestration and the role of the oceans and marine ecosystems in acting as carbon sinks slowing the global climate change process Garcia and Cochrane (2005) mentions this and categorizes ecosystem services into four main areas; provisioning, supporting, regulating or cultural. The function of coral reefs, mangroves and even salt marshes in buffering coastal areas from wave and storm damage was apparent during the 2004 Asian tsunami and the 2005 Gulf of Mexico Hurricanes. It is well known that coastal habitats such as mangroves, salt marshes, coral reefs, and sea grass beds act as nurseries for young fish and other species while also providing a source of income and employment generation. The fisheries sectors of many a nation is fuelled by the highly productive upwelling zones mainly in and around New Zealand, Chile/Peru, South Afr ica and the western United States. Also in terms of biodiversity 16 of the 36 animal Phyla that exist occur only in the oceans, this fact has implications for the biochemical and medical fields for human use (Baskett et al 2005). Marine ecosystem stressors Most of the worlds population lives in or near to coastal areas for many different reasons. Primarily most of the jobs exist in and around the coastal zone as this is where many of the major cities and ports occur. Also food and recreation and leisure activities are gained quite easily from the seas. As a result of the high population densities experienced by the coastal regions a lot of the significant ecosystems and coastal marine communities are being negatively impacted due to human activities (Halpern et al., 2007, 2008). Pollution of various forms have caused increase nutrient enrichment, eutrophication, sedimentation due to land degradation and mismanagement and changes in the hydrological patterns. Climate ahnge is another signifjicant contributor the the deterioration of the marine ecosystems and have taken a heavy toll on coral reef systems in particular (Baker et al. 2008). GESAMP (2001) lists the modification and demolition of habitats, sewage run off and impacts on human health, rising eutrophication and nutrient enrichment and the decrease in fish stocks as well as alteration of sedimentation pattern due to hydrological changes and land degradation as some of the most significant issues facing coastal and marine areas and ecosystems. How are they Managed? Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) Conventional types of natural resource management have been replaced over the years by a more rounded approach ecosystem based management (EBM) which focuses not only on specific sectors but is more all inclusive. Traditionally, activities that influence the management process have been engaged independently and have not considered the collective impacts on the ecosystem (Curtin and Prezello 2010). EBM is a new approach that considers a broader range of contributing factors (ecological, environmental and anthropogenic) in designing a management technique. Management techniques including coastal management, fisheries management and the designation of marine protected areas (MPAs) help to drive EBM related models. Christie et al. (2007) also stress that ecological function and pertinent scales must be considered in the EBM process. Arkema et al (2006) summarize it most effectively: Ecosystem based management represents a much broader view than how marine ecosystems have been managed tr adition- ally, taking into account the interconnectedness and inter- dependent nature of the components of ecosystems, and the fundamental importance of ecosystem structure and functioning in providing humans with the broad range of services that are taken for granted. Cury et al. (2005) notes three key issues that must be adhered to in EBM; establishing lasting goals that are pertinent to the particular ecosystem, defining meaningful indicators, and determining suitable models, data gathering tools and means for analysis. INDENT (2006) provides an assessment of a wide range of indicators, while mechanisms for marine ecosystem management and monitoring are outlined by Hoffman and Gaines (2008). Biological monitoring makes use of indicator species and also considers numbers of particular species, this is especially useful in fisheries monitoring to detect when a disturbance in a specific area in this regard fisheries monitoring is considered a tool on its own. Tracking variations in the water quality or physical habitat is termed environmental monitoring and is separate from biological and fisheries monitoring. The multitude of stressors which influence the marine environment can have many sources, including estuaries, coastal areas and even far away areas such as watersheds. At the highest level therefore EBM should take into account watershed impacts (Guery et al. 2005). Also from a management perspective it has been suggested that an approach which begins at the lowest scale and then makes its way up to the level of large marine ecosystems thereby allowing a greater number of stressors and the services that they impact to be considered Agardy (2007) and Rosenberg (2006). Sustainable management and application of marine ecosystem services always need to consider the relationship between the socioeconomic and ecological parts of the entire system across the various scales involved. Indicators The fisheries resources within an ecosystem are directly related to the primary productivity of that ecosystem (Pauly and Christensen 1995). The ever increasing problem of coastal eutrophication can be monitored by utilizing ecosystem productivity as an indicator. Ecosystem characteristics can be observed through the use of satellite data. Satellite data that has been tuned to a specific region can provide data on nutrients, productivity, phytoplankton, and sea surface temperature (Aiken et al. 1999; Berman and Sherman 2001; Melrose et al. 2006). The 2004 National Coastal Condition Report II illustrates the use of five indices for coastal assessment put forward by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). These include water quality, sediment quality, benthic communities, coastal habitat, and fish tissue contaminants. These indicators and the entire methodology are gradually being applied to the international global environment facility (GEF) funded LME projects. The Gulf of Mexico LME and many European LMEs have suffered due to nitrogen overenrichment over recent decades. The 1970s Green Revolution which saw much of the wetlands of the world being transformed to agricultural lands and the subsequent fertilizer and livestock increase are said to be the major contributors to this process (Howarth et al. 2000 and Duda and El-Ashry 2000) with other contributors coming from urban sewage sources and automobile exhaust. Indicators used for Marine Management The increasing range and intensity of human uses has led to a need for efficient management of marine ecosystems in the region. Marine ecosystem indicators can play a key role in improving the planning and management practices within the marine environment for sustainable use (Borja et al. 2008b; 2009). Indicators enable managers and stakeholders to monitor the condition of an ecosystem and the impacts of its associated human activities. Indicators can also be used to support planning and decision-making for ecosystem-based management, including problem identification and policy implementation. More than a decade ago the chief method employed in assessing marine quality was the use of indicator species collected from the benthic communities. A wider approach is now being undertaken with the inclusion of the physical components as well as a greater range of biological components (Pinto et al., 2009). Fishes, phytoplankton and zooplankton are biological components that are now part of the ecosystem assessment process and are being used as indicators for marine quality evaluation (Borja et al 2009). True marine quality assessment is usually done by incorporating the various physico-chemical and biological elements of the system (Borja, 2005, 2006). Moloney and Shillington (2007) show that it is necessary to have indicators for ecosystem health however, individual indices can be applied for various aspects of the physical and chemical environment. Further work is required for the establishment of an effective method of defining the single indicator for assessment of marine qual ity (Borja et al., 2008a). The past approach had several deficiencies chief of which was it usually was based on just a few indicator organisms which may not have been a true representation of the ecosystem condition. On the other hand developing several indices based on several different organisms has seen a proliferation of indices (Diaz et al., 2004). Another key point to consider is the validation and testing of an index once it has been developed to ensure its accuracy. Obviously the usefulness or applicability of an index lies in its ability to accurately transmit the information about the quality of the study area for which it was designed (see Borja and Dauer, 2008). It is important to note that local scale indices have been generated in abundance in recent times not taking into account the interconnected nature of the larger marine ecosystems. A key step in index development is the multivariate analysis over areas where the ecosystem compositions are close by comparison. Borja et al (2009) have illustrated clearly that stakeholders and decision makers often need information on larger regions that cross habitat boundaries and thus scale is an important factor in index development. Nextà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Indicators for marine management derived from Satellite Remote Sensing

Maldives Efforts To Combat Climate Change An Environmental Sciences Essay

Maldives Efforts To Combat Climate Change An Environmental Sciences Essay Global warming has been causing climate change and this has been affecting the Earth at an alarming rate. Maldivian government are aware of the need to cut down emissions. The tiny Indian Ocean nation of the Maldives will become carbon-neutral within 10 years. This was the pledge made by Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed on March 15. The low-lying country will be among the first in the world to be inundated by rising sea levels caused by human-induced climate change. The highest point in the chain of 1190 islands and coral atolls is just 1.8 metres above sea level. The latest research indicates that if present rates of carbon emissions continue, global warming will likely cause sea level rises about one metre by 2100. This is close to double the rise predicted by most scientists just two years ago.1 71. For the Maldives, climate change is a real issue. The 16th Conference of Parties (COP 16) in Cancun, Mexico from 29 November to 10 December. It estimated that Maldivians emitted 1.3 million tones of carbon dioxide in 2009 via electricity generation, transport, waste and fishing. This was the same estimated amount of carbon emitted by flights carrying 650,000 tourists to the Island each year. The total works out at 4.1 tones per Maldivian compared to 23.5 tones per person per year in the United States. 72. These measures were announced in the face of stark warnings from scientists that rising sea levels could engulf the Maldives and other low-lying nations this century, rendering the Island almost entirely uninhabitable with a rise in sea levels of one metre. 73. Without a global agreement to lower GHG emissions to combat climate change and rising sea levels, the Maldives could disappear from maps in spite of Nasheds efforts.2 74. Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed is listed as the 39th top thinker in the world in Foreign Policy magazine, for his high profile role in combating climate change. Top two billionaires have been travelling the world first to China and soon to India, as well as around the US on a mission to create a global club of Great Givers who will transform philanthropy from a pastime of the wealthy into a calling for everyone who is rich.3 Combat Climate Change. 75. Solar power helps combat climate change, reduces our dependency on imported oil and more importantly cuts out electricity costs. The Maldives stands at the front line of climate change and we dont have the luxury of time to sit and wait for the rest of the world to act. 76. The Maldives which is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels through global warming. The Maldives is made up of nearly 1200 islands that lie of the Indian sub-continent. None of the islands measure more than 1.8 metres (six feet) above sea level, making the country particularly vulnerable to a rise in sea levels associated with global warming. The Maldives face a very real threat from rising sea levels and I share President Nasheeds ambition to prevent the environmental disaster and human rights catastrophe that would befall the islands should the world fail to tackle this problem. 77. Our Climate Change Act is the most ambitious in the industrialized world, committing to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 42 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020 and by 80 per cent by 2050. Scotland also has 25 per cent of Europes offshore wind and tidal resources and 10 per cent of wave potential and the capacity make a significant difference in meeting universal climate change goals. The Maldives to become the worlds first carbon neutral country and in turn create a greener, more sustainable future for our planet.4 78. The international community has welcomed President Nasheeds efforts to raise awareness over the dangers of climate change, which threaten to submerge his low-lying nation. That same international community must not sit back and watch as the remnants of dictatorship try and sink the Maldives fledgling democracy.5 Declaration of the Climate Vulnerable Forum. 79. Alarmed at the pace of change to our Earth caused by human-induced climate change, including accelerating melting and loss of ice from Antarctica, Greenland, the Himalayas, Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, acidification of the worlds oceans due to rising CO2 concentrations, increasingly intense tropical cyclones, more damaging and intense drought and floods, including Glacial Lakes Outburst Floods, in may region and high levels of sea-level rise than estimated just a few years ago, risks changing the face of the planet and threatening coastal cities, low lying areas, mountainous regions and vulnerable countries the world over. 80. Conscious that our nations lie at the climate front-line and will disproportionately feel the impacts of global warming, in the end climate change will threaten the sustainable development and, ultimately, the survival of all States and peoples the fate of the most vulnerable will be the fate of the world; and convinced that our acute vulnerability not only allows us to perceive the threat of climate change more clearly than others, but also provides us with the clarity of vision to understand the steps that must be taken to protect the Earths climate system and the determination to see the job done. 81. Recalling that UNFCCC is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change. 82. Emphasizing that developed countries bear the overwhelming historic responsibility for causing anthropogenic climate change and must therefore take the lead in responding to the challenge across all four building blocks of an enhanced international climate change regime namely mitigation, adaption, technology and finance that builds-upon the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol. 83. Taking account their historic responsibility as well as the need to secure climate justice for the worlds poorest and most vulnerable communities, developed countries must commit to legally-binding and ambitious emission reduction targets consistent with limiting global average surface warming to well below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and long-term stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations at well below 350 ppm, and that to achieve this the agreement at COP 15 UNFCCC should include a goal of peaking global emissions by 2015 with a sharp decline thereafter towards a global reduction of 85% by 2050. 84. Convinced that those countries which take the lead in embracing this future will be the winners of the 21st Century. 85. All other countries to follow the moral leadership shown by the Republic of Maldives by voluntarily committing to achieving carbon-neutrality. Assert that the achievement of carbon neutrality by developing countries will be extremely difficult given their lack of resources and capacity and pressing adaptation challenges, without external financial, technological and capability-building support from developed countries. Declare that, irrespective of the effectiveness of mitigation actions, significant adverse changes in the global climate are now inevitable and are already taking place, and thus Parties to the UNFCCC must also include, in the COP15 outcome document, an ambitious agreement on adaptation finance which should prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable countries, especially in the near-term. 86. Decide to hold a second meeting of the Climate Vulnerable Forum in Kiribati in 2010 to take forward this initiative, to further raise awareness of the vulnerabilities and actions of vulnerable countries to combat climate change, and to amplify their voice in international negotiations. In this context, request support from the UN system to assist the most vulnerable developing countries take action in pursuit of this Declaration.6 Copenhagen. 87. The event preceded the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) that began, where 192 parties are meeting with the intention of formulating an agreement to stabilize the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Organizers hope the conference will prove as successful as COP3 in 1997, known as the Kyoto Protocol, which led to agreements on mandatory emission reductions. During the week-long visit to Denmark, over 200 delegates aged 14-17 from 42 countries set up stands in Copenhagen town hall promoting their countrys efforts to combat climate change. The Maldivian delegates confessed theirs was one of the most popular with many people fascinated by the immediate threat climate change and sea level rise poses for the low-lying island nations. Maldivians are an innocent (party) suffering from the actions of developed countries.7 88. The issue has taken on urgency ahead of a major UN climate change conference scheduled for December in Copenhagen. At that meeting countries will negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol with aims to cut the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that scientists blame for causing global warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere. Wealthy nations want broad emissions cuts from all countries, while poorer ones say industrialized countries should carry most of the burden.8 1. The Guardian. 2. http://www.climateactionprogramme.org. 3. http://www.asiantribune.com. 4. http://www.scotland.gov.uk. 5. The Guardian, ibid. 6. http://www.ecs.org.et. 7. http://www.minivannews.com. 8. http://www.msnbc.msn.com.

Television and Fun :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A few decades ago television consisted of a small number of channels, today however there are more different channels than one can watch in a full day. Because a media company’s number one goal, like every other corporation, is to earn the largest profit possible, media companies use segmentation to target niche audiences. Moreover, fragmentation—the large increase in the number of channels—has also created niche audiences. So, what’s the big deal with fragmentation and audience segmentation? By creating niche audiences, both fragmentation and segmentation make advertisers’ jobs easier. For instance, if a company wants to advertise toys, then the company will buy airtime on the network Nickelodeon; since Nickelodeon has children’s programming. The creation of niche audiences produces certain social questions about free will and freedom of speech; because audience groups are created and constructed. The following paper wil l examine two cable networks, Comedy Central and Oxygen, to determine the effects of such programming.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First off, Oh! The Oxygen Network aired the film Whale Rider on the night of Monday, April 5, 2004. The following will be an analysis of the advertisements that were shown from nine to ten o’clock, and thus one can determine which audiences were targeted. Whale Rider is a film about a young Maori girl that wants to be the next leader of her tribe, but is at the same time shown resistance from her grandfather. Paikea, the young girl, wants to participate in the training sessions conducted by her grandfather; but her grandfather is old fashioned and doesn’t believe that a girl can become the chief. Paikea knows that she is destined to be the next chief and gets in trouble a number of times for her relentless attempts at trying to participate in the exercises. The movie has a subplot dealing with the relationship between Paikea and her father, but the film mainly revolves around Paikea’s struggle to prove herself worthy to her grandfather Koro. E ven though Paikea is much better than the boys at performing the ceremonial exercises, her grandfather is blinded by his prejudice. The film ends with a herd of whales being attracted to Paikea and getting stranded on the beach. Koro finally accepts Paikea’s destiny when she risks her life by riding on the back of a whale to direct them back to the ocean. The advertisements that were aired during the film included weight loss products—such

Premature Infants Essay -- Health, NICU

Thousands of infants are born prematurely on an annual basis, and it is a challenge in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to facilitate parent-child attachment while still providing the safest clinical environment for the infant. One significant area of research where premature infants are concerned is the effect of early skin to skin contact (SSC), or kangaroo care, between the parent(s) and child during their stay in the NICU. Although it has been found that early and frequent SSC promotes positive physiological responses in preterm infants, there is mostly speculative data regarding the long-term psychosocial effects where parent-infant bonding is concerned. An important question for the clinician working in this specialty area to find a quantifiable answer for is, â€Å"Do parents who are permitted to touch and/or hold their infant in the NICU bond with their infant better than those who are not able to do this?† This type of question is structured in the PICO mod el, which is one of the most common models used in evidenced-based practice (EBP). The question is structured in a way that the patient population and practice or intervention are clearly identified, making it easier for the researcher to find relevant research data using the internet and databases. More specifically, PICO can be broken down into: P (patient population or condition of interest), I (intervention of interest), C (comparison of interest), and O (outcome of interest). (Schmidt & Brown, 2012) For the question at hand, the P (population) was parents of infants in the NICU, the I (intervention of interest) considered was the ability to touch and/or hold their infant, C (comparison) was parents who were not permitted physical contact with their infant,... ...es have to realize that they are not just caring for a premature infant, but also a new family. It is also important for the nurse to understand that the mothers’ and fathers’ approach to touching and bonding with their infant may differ. Although quantitative data from Chiu and Anderson (2009) did not reveal significant differences between the control group and the SSC group at 18 months, the data from Latva et al. (2008) showed significant behavioral differences at six years old when infants were touched as newborns and formed a secure attachment. Therefore, for the health and well-being of both parents and child, time and opportunity to have SSC and bonding experiences must be priorities in the plan of care for infants in the NICU. As one mother stated, â€Å"I need to be allowed to feel that he is mine.† (Fegran, Helseth, & Fagermoen, 2007, pg. 813)

Similarities Between Hurston’s Novels, Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God :: Compare Comparison Essays

Similarities Between Hurston’s Novels, Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God Seraph – page 153 So, calling soothingly to Earl, Jim started from the south border of the sink hole and began to pick along to where Earl stood braced between two great cypress trees. Earl’s face was cold and unrecognizing. Jim caught hold to vines and shrubs to keep from slipping off the precarious footing into the water, and said nice things to Earl and kept going. He was a good half way along the dangerous route when Earl stepped forth and leveled the rifle and took aim. Eyes – page 184 He steadied himself against the jam of the door and Janie thought to run into him and grab his arm, but she saw the quick motion of taking aim and heard the click. Saw the ferocious look in his eyes and went mad with fear as she had done in the water that time. She threw up the barrel of the rifle in frenzied hope and fear. Hope that he’d see it and run, desperate fear for her life. But if Tea Cake could have counted costs he would not have been there with the pistol in his hands. No knowledge of fear nor rifles nor anything else was there. He paid no more attention to the pointing gun than if it were Janie’s dog finger. She saw him stiffen himself all over as he leveled and took aim. The fiend in him must kill and Janie was the only thing living he saw. Ms. Hurston’s two books Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God are remarkably similar in many aspects, and I believe that these two passages exemplify that likeness. These two scenes take place just before a person is shot, Tea Cake in Eyes, and earl in Seraph. Janie kills (shoots) Tea Cake because he contracted rabies during the hurricane by a dog, and Earl was killed (shot) by several of the townsmen because he tried to rape Lucy Ann. Both Tea Cake and Earl were rendered mad and lost all humanity due to their circumstances. Both men needed help long before someone realized they could possibly be a danger to themselves or others. Both men were killed for attacking a woman, even though they clearly could not control themselves. Jim and Janie both try to help, but ultimately fail.

Nick Djokovic Essay

In today’s world, there are many sport figures one can look up to. We have chosen the best of the best in the tennis world, Novak Djokovic. Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world number 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals. Despite being the underdog during his early years as a professional tennis player, he is now the best professional tennis player overtaking the previous king of tennis Rafael Nadal. Ever since the age of four, he has been interested in tennis. Unlike most children his age, it was not a fleeting interest. He was determined to achieve his dream of becoming the best tennis player in the world. With his steadfast dream, he has won six Grand Slam titles and has brought him to where he is now. This report will cover Djokovic’s personality, values and attitude, motivation and leadership skills that had helped him to achieve his dream. The points highlighted are also the main reason he is worth following as an influential leader. 2.0 Personality The big five model of personality consists of extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience. Djokovic can be seen as a person that is highly extrovert as he is fun-loving, expressive and sociable. During his comeback as the winner in the Australian Open, he was so overjoyed that he threw his racket, wristbands and his shirt to his fans (AOL News, 2011). Djokovic is also socially attached to his fans that he created an application known as ‘Nole4You’ that focuses on a direct coverage of Djokovic’s real time games (New & Newsworthy, 2012a). On the other hand, Djokovic is low on the neurotism category as he is much balanced and emotionally stable. According to Suttles (2013), Djokovic was â€Å"gracious in defeat† as every defeat he channels it back into better concentration for the next match. Next, Djokovic is rather high on the agreeableness meter as he shows a great deal of care towards others through his charities. Djokovic created the Novak Djokovic Foundation which supports young children from disadvantaged communities especially in native Serbia (New & Newsworthy, 2012b). Besides that, he was also elected as the ambassador of The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Serbia as he was utterly concern in the welfare of the people in his hometown as well as the importance in early childhood education in Native Serbia (Look To The Stars, 2011). He was also keen in participating in fights for the betterment of society such as the fight against acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) which required him to use the Head Red special edition bag collection from Head to the French Open Grand Slam (Look To The Stars, 2013a). Djokovic is also high in conscientiousness as he is responsible for his career and he is well organized after his achievement in the Australian Open. Although being reckless in his previous season, he is where he is now due to his hard work in perfecting his service techniques and getting his diet right (Carter, 2011). According to Djokovic in an interview, he wants to be consistent in his games and to do this, he has to stay fit and take care of his health and physical condition (The National, 2011). Lastly, Djokovic is very open to new experience. One afternoon in year 2010, Djokovic received a phone call from Dr. Igor Cetojevic who said that his fatigue in the 2010 Aussie Open was due to his diet that consists of glutens that caused an accumulation of toxins in his large intestines. Djokovic listened to his advice to practice a gluten-free diet as well as to build him up spiritually. Besides that, Djokovic also took risk to change his serve technique as advised by Marian Vajda. As a result of Djokovic’s openness, he no longer suffers from fatigues and he felt much happier and balanced. In addition, a change in his serve technique enabled him to defeat the former world number one five times consecutively and brought him to the top of the tennis world (Saslow, 2012). 3.0 Values and Attitude As a well-known figure in the world of tennis, Djokovic has certain values that enable him to enjoy the success that he has today. According to George and Jones (2012, p.93), values are defined as personal convictions about what one should strive for in life and how one should behave. Values are further divided into two categories; work values and ethical values. In terms of work values, there are intrinsic and extrinsic work values. In definition, intrinsic work values are values that are related to the nature of the work itself. Some examples of intrinsic work values that are prominent in Djokovic’s work are the ability to make important contributions to the public, the interesting work and the challenging work that can be done. Firstly, in terms of the ability to make important contributions to the public, Djokovic is well known for his philanthropic work. Due to this status as the highest ranked tennis player, he is very well-connected and is able to influence his fans over his beliefs. From this, he has helped to raise awareness for AIDS, human trafficking, poverty, human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights and many more (Look To The Stars, 2013b). Aside from that, his ability to make important contributions to the public and society is further supported by his status as the ambassador of UNICEF in Serbia. Aside from him advertising his beliefs on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and his video blog, UNICEF has also advertised their cause through Djokovic because of his popularity among the younger generation (UNICEF, 2011). Although generating a high pay from his career, he did not choose this career lifestyle because of it. He started playing tennis at the age of four and played professionally when he was 16 years old. This is due to his passion and interest in tennis. He has trained and played in every single tennis tournament to gain the experience he needed. Even though he has been injured quite a number of times in terms of ankle and knee injuries, that has never stopped him from pursuing his dream of being the best tennis player (Mitchell, 2013). However challenging his work may be, Djokovic never gave up. He continuously pursues his dream of being the best. After relentless practice and competitions, he finally replaced Roger Federer as the top ranked tennis player in the world. This attitude of his is admirable and serves as a constant reminder to his fans that nothing is impossible. On the other hand, extrinsic values are values that are related to the consequences of work. One of the more prominent extrinsic values is the high salary. Not only does he get paid for playing tennis, he gets paid through his endorsements deals with well-known companies such as UNIQLO, Fitline and Telekom Srbjia (Badenhausen, 2011). His salary also includes appearance fees, exhibitions and prize money. Besides that, his career as a tennis player provides him with many job benefits. One of the many is fame. Unlike most athletes, Djokovic enjoys being in the limelight and often shares news and funny anecdotes of his life with his fans. Next, his job provides very flexible working hours. He practices his tennis with his coaches at any time he wants. Due to his flexible working hours, he gets to spend more time with his family and to indulge in vacations as well as hobbies. According to George and Jones (2012, p.97), work attitude is defined as the collection of feelings, beliefs and thoughts about how to behave in one’s job and organisation. Although similar to values, work attitudes are more specific and are not as constant as values as work attitudes change over time. In 2008, although he was winning tournaments, Djokovic hired a new fitness coach in hopes that it will help boost his performance. After the change, he was able to defeat the two reigning champions in the tennis world, namely, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. His attitude changed once a new factor was introduced into his life (ESPN, 2010). 4.0 Motivational Theories Everyone in the world possesses a particular set of skills that they are good at in their lives. People who managed to realize their potential often harness that skill and sharpen it to become a much better person. During those times, motivation towards that ability drives them to keep pushing forward in harnessing those skills. Many professional sportsmen and sportswomen started training during childhood. Motivation is what has kept them and pushed them into training harder every day until they finally achieve their goal. According to George and Jones (2012, p. 183), there are three elements of work motivation; direction of behavior, level of effort and level of persistence. Novak Djokovic, world’s best tennis player, possessed all these three elements. For example, although his family had economic problems in Serbia, he still chose to fly to Germany to train despite only being 12 years old. Even as a child, he loved tennis with a passion. He once skipped afternoon classes in school just so he could attend tennis training with his coach (PRPepper Production, 2012). His passion, effort and persistence during training are boundless. His motivation was driven because he loved tennis rather than his parents forcing the sport on him. 4.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Djokovic’s efforts and achievements relate a lot to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs consists of five different types of needs from the lowest to the highest; physiological, safety, belongingness, esteems and self-actualization needs (George and Jones, 2012, p. 187). The two needs most emphasized by Djokovic are the esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Right from the beginning, Djokovic was always focused and determined to be the best in the tennis world, which directly means beating the best players in the world such as Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Tommy Haas and Rafael Nadal. Esteem needs emphasizes on an individual being recognized and respected by others (George and Jones, 2012, p.187). Djokovic strived hard during his early years under the guidance of Nikola Pilic. At the age of 16, he was awarded the champion of â€Å"La Boule†. This event leads to the start of his professional career (PRPepper Prodcutions, 2012). However, he did not stop that as he was motivated aim higher. This further explains Maslow’s self-actualization need theory, which is defined as â€Å"needs to realize one’s full potential as a human being†. Djokovic trained hard every day motivated by one goal; to be the best tennis player in the world. Due to him having a high self-actualisation, Djokovic obtained the title of being the best tennis player in the ATP rankings in 2012 after obtaining a 43% winning rate in 2011. Today, Djokovic is further motivated by his lost to Rafeal Nadal in the 2013 French Open. Instead of giving up, Djokovic evaluates his loss as a sense of motivation to train harder in order to win the next tournament, Wimbledon (Gajaria, 2013).

Managing human resources

Any person, who has a physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such impairment or is regarded as having such impairment or is regarded as having such impairment. It involves heaving, mobility, visual impairment, chronic alcoholism, and chronic mental illness. From the article it is necessary to provide assistance to individuals with disabilities to lead a productive life. People with disabilities are of ten unable to obtain health care insurance that provides coverage of the services and supports to enable them to live independently and enter or rejoin the workforce. Personal assistance services such as attendant services, assistance with transportation to and from work, reader services, job coaches and related service may remove barriers between significant disability and work. A company should have a proper policy in dealing with employees with disabilities. They should be treated as equals at the workplace who also are able to deliver services like those ones without disabilities specialized training should be conducted by the company management to thoroughly equip those with disabilities in order to handle any type of job at the workplace. For individuals with disabilities the fear of losing health care and related services is one of the greatest barriers keeping individuals from maximizing their employment, earning potential and independence. On December 1999 President Clinton signed a law that encouraged states to adopt the option of allowing people with disabilities acquire medical coverage that is vital to enable such individuals to maintain employment. In short people with disabilities may have functional limitations that may create barriers in employment e.g. acquiring requisite education, experience and expertise to perform essential functions of a job but maybe unable to perform non-essential job like turning pages without assistance. Employers should assist qualified individuals with disabilities overcome particular barriers to their employment resulting from their functional limitations. Personal assistance services are form of assistance used by persons with disabilities to perform tasks that the person would perform for himself or herself if he/she did not have disability. Personal assistance services include assistance with services that include reading, communication and performing manual tasks e.g. assisting in bathing, eating personal hygiene and dressing. Job related assistance in the performance of such tasks as reading communication and performance of non-essential manual tasks; business related travel maybe considered reasonable accommodations. Many computer users with disabilities especially those with impairments have been left out in recent transition from traditional character based computing to the new graphical user interface (GUI). â€Å"The broad movement toward graphical applications using buttons that cannot be read aloud or translated into Braille has sparked widespread concern among the blind† writes David Wilson in the chronicle of higher education. Sears merchandise troop is establishing an example of act that provides a model for other organizations seeking to provide universal access to InfoTech for employees with disabilities. In 1992 it provided its staff with personal computers running applications in a local area network. Sears identified twelve associates with disabilities who needed accommodations to use the same standard computing resources. Sears goal was to provide universal access to the same technology and applications for all associates. Sears objectives were to allow associates with disabilities use the same G.UI environment and applications as their workgroups, enable adept manager plan and budget for addition of a qualified blind employee of dept of staff; all the company evaluate blind candidates for employment and advancement on equal footing with sighted candidates. The managerial function of staffing, according to G.A. Cole, management theory and practice, (1996) is defined as filling and keeping filled all the positions in the organization structure. This is done by identifying the workforce requirements, inventorying the people available and recruiting, selecting, placing, training and developing, promoting and compensating the job holders that they can accomplish their tasks efficiently and effectively staffing is therefore the process which starts with the human resources needs, recruiting new employees into the organization and continued through separation of employees in the organization and continued through separation of employees n the organization. Recruitment is a major staffing or procurement process. It deals with providing human inputs to the organization it makes it possible for organization to acquire the number and the type of the people necessary to ensure the continued operation of the organization. Recruitment is therefore the process of attracting potential job candidates to apply for vacant positions in the organization that is, it is a searching process. Sources of recruitments include; internal sources which involves recruiting from within the organization through promotion or deployment of qualified personnel. Interviews may also be conducted to select the candidates fro various types of jobs in the organization in the organization. Some of the advantages of sourcing from within the organization are that, it improves employees morale; the employer is in a better position to evaluate the presently employed than outside candidates promotes loyalty among employees for it gives them a sense of job security and opportunity for it gives them a sense of job security and opportunity for advancement, It is less, costly than going outside to recruit, also recruiting from within has little training needed by the employees who are currently serving in the organization, it also promotes a positive organizational culture for example organizational cohesiveness. Some of the disadvantages of recruiting from within are that it leads to in breeding that is organizational stagnation; there is possibility that internal sources may dry-up and may be difficult to find the required personnel from within. External sources of staffing refer to the supply of personnel manpower from sources outside the organization. The sources may include; new entrants to the labor markets for example fresh college graduates; retired experienced persons, presently employed persons from other organization or unemployed already in the labor market with a wide range of skills and ability. Some of the advantages of external sources of recruitment includes the fact that the external sources may provide personnel having skills, training or education required by the organization from external market sources an organization may acquire potential employees who are experienced, trained and does not require extra training for their job hence this may reduce the cost of training to the organization. Employee’s selection according to John Toye, Employment policy, (1975) is the process by which job candidates are assessed or screened to determine their suitability for a given job. The purpose of selection is to help employers secure for evaluating their suitability from the advertised positions. It involves a series of successive hurdles designed to eliminate unqualified applicant at any point in the process that is when facts come to light which may lead to the rejection of candidate. Not all selection process or steps, however, include many barriers. The complexity of any process usually increases with the level and responsibility of the position to be filled. Some of the steps involved in selection includes; preliminary   interviews; selection interviews; employment tests; assessment centers; medical examinations; reference checks and the final selection and the consequent approval by the top managers. According to G.A. Cole, managerial theory and practice (1996) job training can be defined as a short-term process by which skills and capabilities of non-managerial employees are improved, though a system and organized procedure so as to enable them to be more productive an their jobs. Thus, training is job centered or task oriented which is centered with importing specific skills to subordinate staffs. Job development is used with reference to training given to managers and executives in an organization; thus management or executive development is along-term educational growth process by which managerial person and gains and learns conceptual knowledge for general managerial or administrative purposes. The objectives of training and development are that; training improve technical capacity of an individual on job performance, improves health or safety of employees hence industrial, reduces sported work hence less scrap or material wastage. This reduces the cost of production, prepares personal for future jobs challenges an promotions, enables the employers adapt to a change to work method or procedures, enables two employers learn method of operating real machines and equipment ins talked by a organization example a computer. There are various methods of job training such as on-job training which entails looking what your colleague is doing. This is an internal training method commonest mode of training and the most appropriate method of training employees for the skills required for a specific job. This method is very cheap as the learner is in the wok place where he/she s expected to working in, the learner uses the equipment he is expected to use and also he/she is able to learn the rules, procedure under careful company eyes and is able and easier to size them up. Off the job training is done externally. It ensures that special training equipments are available and the training is of higher equipment are available and the training is of higher quality because it is offered by experts, specialists from outside, the trainee is able to learn in a planned stages using special exercise especially in difficult areas of the job. Off the job training is done lectures can be used where a large group is being trained for a short period of time. In order to improve the effectiveness of training, there must be specific objectives for training. An attempt should be made to determine the suitability of a trainee for potentiality and ability. The trainee must be assisted to see the need for the training. Attempts must be made to create organizational conditions that are good or conductive to learning. A good compensation to employees should be administered through wage and salary administration so as to improve the service delivery of employees. Salary and wage administration involves the direction of programs designed to implement payment of monetary/non monetary rewards to employees. The primary financial reward is pay in form of wages and salaries, sometimes referred to as compensation or remuneration. The objectives of employees compensations programs are designed to attract capable employees to the organization, to motivate them towards superior performance, retain their services over an extended period of time. Employee’s performance appraisal should be done to evaluate the performance and give the feedback on which performance adjustment can be made. REFERENCES 1. G. A. Cole Management Theory and Practice (1996) 2. John Toye Employment Policy, (1995) 3. www.annenberg.northwestern.edu/